- $253 million redevelopment approved for Arncliffe site, will deliver 750 new homes
- Project to see existing social housing building demolished, replaced with residential and community hub
- Marks the third time NSW LAHC and Billbergia Group have partnered to deliver housing
A site in Arncliffe will undergo a major housing redevelopment with the announcement that nearly 750 new homes have been approved for construction.
The mixed housing community aims to alleviate the pressure on community housing services, with 180 of the homes reserved for social housing. The remaining 564 houses will be private dwellings.
The $253 million project will be delivered by the NSW Government in collaboration with private developer Billbergia Group and the not-for-profit community housing provider Evolve Housing.
The Arncliffe redevelopment marks the third time Billbergia Group has partnered with the NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC).
Partnership delivers housing boost
NSW LAHC Chief Executive Simon Newport said the redevelopment exemplifies how partnerships between the private and not-for-profit sectors can deliver housing boosts.
“At no cost to the taxpayer, we’ll deliver both an increase to the supply of new social and private housing.”
Simon Newport, NSW LAHC
Billbergia Group Managing Director John Kinsella echoed these thoughts, and said: “projects like these demonstrate how government and private sectors can work together to deliver social housing by taking a true long-term community view.”
According to the Development Application, the project will take place at a 1.33-hectare site encompassing 161-179 Princes Highway and 26-42 Eden Street.
The site is currently home to an outdated social housing building, comprising 142 units and built in the 1940s.
The redevelopment will see the site transformed into 744 new residential homes, a 4000 sqm public park, and new retail and community amenities.
“We’re looking forward to transforming the dated social housing into a thriving new community which blends private and social housing into a vibrant precinct containing over 4,000 sqm of parklands and open space,” said Mr Kinsella.
Helping tenants transition smoothly
According to the LAHC, tenants who were relocated during the redevelopment will be given the opportunity to return to new homes at the site. All reasonable relocation costs will be covered.
Mr Newport noted that the social housing units marked for demolition were issued for use as emergency housing during the height of the pandemic, helping to transition vulnerable people from the waitlist into permanent housing.
“For a short-term investment in updating and refreshing each property back in 2020, we were able to provide short-term accommodation to assist the new tenants towards positive outcomes, including suitable new housing,” he said.
“Instead of the units sitting vacant while waiting for lockdowns to end, we were able to give almost 140 households on the social housing waitlist a leg-up towards permanent housing,” concluded Mr Newport.
